The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could be one of the best phones of 2026, if rumours are anything to go by.
Samsung is rumoured to be hard at work on the 2026 flagship behind closed doors, with rumours suggesting key upgrades in design, camera tech, performance, and even battery life that, combined, could maintain Samsung’s dominance at the top end of the Android smartphone market.
Here’s everything there is to know about the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra right now, including both rumours and leaks.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra rumours at a glance:
- Similar design to S25 Ultra, but thinner
- 6.9-inch QHD+ AMOLED panel with better anti-reflective tech
- Upgraded main and 3x telephoto cameras
- Possibility of an under-display selfie camera
- Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2/Exynos 2600 chipset split
- 5000mAh battery and faster 60W charging
Latest Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra leaks and rumours
Design
Don’t expect a massive redesign of the Galaxy S26 Ultra if current rumours are to be believed.
There are claims that it’ll resemble the flat-edged, angled corner design of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, albeit in a thinner chassis – and possibly without those divisive protruding camera rings.
Leaker Ice Universe believes that the phone will measure somewhere between 7 and 8mm thick with a “slightly increased width and height”, a reduction from the current 8.1mm-thick chassis.
That reduction in thickness could come at the cost of S Pen functionality, however, with leaker PandaFlashPro claiming that the S Pen would no longer feature a digitiser, which is responsible for pressure sensitivity and hovering options.
Screen
Rumours suggest a very similar screen to that of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but given that it’s one of the best on any smartphone right now, that shouldn’t really be a problem for most.
That means we should expect a 6.9-inch AMOLED screen with an LTPO-enabled 120Hz refresh rate, a pixel-packed QHD+ resolution and a maximum brightness of 2600nits.
That said, Ice Universe claims the upcoming 6.9-inch panel will feature “CoE depolarizer technology and third-generation ant-reflective glass” that should make it even easier to use in bright environments.
Cameras
There were rumblings earlier this year that Samsung could bring back the variable aperture for the Galaxy S26 Ultra – a feature last seen on the Galaxy S10 back in 2018.
However, more recent rumours suggest that the S26 Ultra will instead sport a fixed f/1.4 200MP main lens. It’s said that the wider aperture should boost light intake by a decent 47%, which should have a knock-on effect on low-light photos and videos.
Elsewhere, there are claims that Samsung is working on an upgraded 12MP 3x telephoto sensor, up from the current 10MP zoom lens. It could even feature a new AF sensor for faster focusing speeds, along with the next iteration of Samsung’s proprietary ProVisual Engine to boost image processing.
It looks like the 50MP ultrawide and 5x periscope lenses will remain unchanged, however.
Interestingly, it’s not just the main lenses due for an upgrade this year; Samsung is also rumoured to use an under-display selfie camera on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It’s usually a staple of Samsung’s big-screen foldables, but it was ditched from this year’s Galaxy Z Fold 7, so take that rumour with a pinch of salt.
Performance
For the past few years, Samsung has equipped its top-end flagship with Qualcomm chipsets around the world – but rumours suggest there could be a return to the dreaded chipset split seen a few years ago.
More specifically, leaker JunkanIosreve claims that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will be equipped with the Exynos 2600 chipset in Europe, with those in the US and other regions set to get the yet-unannounced Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2. Leaked firmware backs up the latter.
That could be accompanied by a boost in the RAM department, jumping from 12GB to 16GB – a configuration last seen with the Galaxy S21 Ultra. It’s likely required for the growing demands of on-device AI – something we’ve heard surprisingly little about so far.
Battery
Battery and charging are two areas where the top-end Galaxy has stagnated over the past few years, with all models sporting the same 5000mAh battery and 45W charging. In a world where rivals sport 6000mAh+ cells, it’s looking slightly dated.
There were hopes earlier this year that, with Samsung rumoured to finally implement high-capacity silicon-carbon battery tech, the capacity could finally increase.
However, it seems instead that Samsung wants to slim the battery down while matching the current 5000mAh capacity. There is some good news though; leaked code from One UI 8.5 suggests that charging speeds will jump from 45W to 60W with the upcoming flagship.
